Contact distant family members online
In the second of his new genealogy column, family historian Nick Peers explains how to…
If you’ve hit a brick wall with your research, it may be time to look for distant family members who are hunting the same ancestors. With some luck, they’ll have found information on one side of the tree that joins with yours.
Getting in touch is relatively straightforward. Many sites, including Ancestry, Myheritage and Familysearch, include both private (one-to-one messaging) and public (groups and forums) methods of getting in contact.
Contact ‘Smart Match’ relatives
To save time, try to contact only family members with a reasonably close connection – a shared great-greatgrandparent is a good boundary. I was able to track down previously unknown photos of my great grandfather Henry Hirons as well as his parents from a descendant of Henry’s older sister, Lily.
How do you find such relatives? Start on your favourite websites. In Familysearch, go to a person’s details page and click events or memories to see who added them. From here, you can click the contributor’s name to send a private message.
Similar tools are available through Ancestry and Myheritage, but you’ll need a subscription to make contact with other members. One of Myheritage’s best tools is ‘Smart Matches’, which suggests people who may be related to you (see screenshot left). Click their name, then the Contact button.
In Ancestry, click Profile under an individual’s entry in your tree, then click the Tools button and select Member Connect to view a list of family trees that contain a likely match to your ancestor. Once confirmed, you can send a message to the person.
When making contact, be polite (obviously), but also direct and specific, providing the reasons why you think you might be distantly related. Also think about what you can offer in return – dangle the prospect of photos, documents or other information as part of an exchange to improve your chances of a response.
Make yourself visible to others
It’s not just about contacting others – you can also make yourself more visible. Start by uploading lots of photos and information about your family, so your details pop up in other people’s searches. This material will encourage others to reach out with questions of their own, which may lead to a mutually beneficial exchange. I was contacted by another distant relative about my great grandfather John Peers, and we ended up swapping photos and other documents.
Some sites also let you make public pleas for information. On Familysearch, browse to an individual’s details page, then scroll down and click the link to start a public ‘discussion’, so anyone else arriving on this page can see you and respond in kind.
There are also sites dedicated to allow family historians to make contact. Evidentree ( www.evidentree.com, see screenshot above) is an excellent example. It works by linking surnames to places, offering one-to-one messaging and public groups to help drive discussion and the sharing of information.
Other websites worth trying include UK Surnames ( http://uk-surnames.com/ search.php) and Lost Cousins ( www. lostcousins.com).